WASHINGTON — The chairman of the House Oversight Committee has scheduled a contempt vote for next week on a former Internal Revenue Service official at the heart of the agency's tea party controversy.

Lois Lerner directed the IRS division that processes applications for tax-exempt status. Last May, after providing an opening statement, she refused to answer questions at a committee hearing about IRS agents improperly singling out tea party applications for extra scrutiny. She again refused to answer questions at hearing last month.